This invention relates to rotary mechanisms, such as pumps, compressors, engines, or the like, and, more specifically, to corner seals employed in such mechanisms.
Conventional corner seals in trochoidal engines and slant axis rotary engines are expensive to manufacture. Typically, the corner seals include so-called "piston seals" (sometimes termed bolts) which are disposed at the intersection of apex seals and end seals in trochoidal type mechanisms or peripheral seals in slant axis rotary mechanisms. Usually, the piston seals are provided with at least two grooves, one for receipt of the apex seal and one for receipt of the end or peripheral seal. To achieve adequate sealing, the centerline of the grooves in the piston seal must accurately align with the corresponding seal receiving grooves in the rotor and such centerlines preferably should coincide with the center of the piston seal.
Since the design or typical clearance between seals and the sides of the grooves is normally on the order of 0.08 mm, tolerances must be held quite close to prevent excessive leakage that would have a detrimental effect on mechanism performance. As a consequence, manufacturing cost is undesirably high.